The Pistons held Jalen Brunson in check for nearly three quarters on Saturday, but it still wasn't enough to snap a 17-year playoff win drought.
Brunson came alive in the fourth quarter despite appearing to aggravate an ankle injury, spearheading a 21-0 Knicks run to turn a deficit into a comfortable lead ahead of the closing minutes of a 123-112 win.
The Knicks received contributions across the board in Game 1, with Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby each scoring 23 points, but a hobbled Brunson was the killer when the Knicks needed him to take over.
Here's a look at Brunson's stats from New York's Game 1 win over the Pistons.
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Jalen Brunson stats vs. Pistons
- Points: 34
- Rebounds: 2
- Assists: 8
- Steals: 0
- Blocks: 0
- TOs: 1
- Fouls: 3
- FG: 12-27
- 3FG: 2-5
- FT: 8-10
Brunson scored 34 points for the Knicks in Game 1, adding eight assists and shooting 12-of-27 from the field.
The All-Star started just 2-of-13 as the Knicks struggled to keep pace with the Pistons, but he finished on a 10-of-14 shooting run despite dealing with an ankle injury. Once Brunson got back on the court, he seemed to find a new gear.
"I think he grabbed his cape," coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters after the game.
🧊 KNICKS 21-0 RUN TO ICE GAME 1 🧊
— NBA (@NBA) April 20, 2025
New York rode 21 straight PTS, as part of a 40-PT 4Q, to a Game 1 victory!!
Every bucket from the run to give them a 1-0 series lead ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/CYqcADpdat
Brunson scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, helping engineer a 21-0 run that put the Knicks in total control down the stretch. He wasn't alone, as Cameron Payne drilled some clutch shots off the bench, but Brunson met the moment once again by putting a rough start behind him.
Jalen Brunson playoff stats
Here are Brunson's career playoff stats entering the 2024-25 playoffs:
| Season | Team | Games | PPG | RPG | APG | FG% | 3-pt% |
| 2020-21 | Mavericks | 7 | 8.0 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 45.5% | 46.2% |
| 2021-22 | Mavericks | 18 | 21.6 | 4.6 | 3.7 | 46.6% | 34.7% |
| 2022-23 | Knicks | 11 | 27.8 | 4.9 | 5.6 | 47.4% | 32.5% |
| 2023-24 | Knicks | 13 | 32.4 | 3.3 | 7.5 | 44.4% | 31.0% |
| Career | 49 | 23.9 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 45.9% | 33.3% |
Brunson has seen his scoring average increase with each playoff run, averaging more points per game in the playoffs than he did in the regular season for each of the last three seasons.
The 28-year-old averaged north of 32 points per game in the playoffs last season, adding 7.5 assists per game as the Knicks fell one game short of a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.